Gas cylinders as referred to in this application are commonly used to hold various gases such as oxegen, nitrogen, and other gases used in industrial applications such as welding and the like. Typically, such cylinders are substantially longer than they are wide and are susceptible to falling over when resting on their bottom. The tops of such cylinders usually include the valve works by which the cylinders are filled and depleted. When such a cylinder is pressurized with a gas, a potentially hazardous situation can be created by improperly storing such cylinders. If the cylinders are stored upright as is typical and one of the cylinders topples over, damage to the cylinder top or casing can turn the cylinder into an uncontrolled projectile weighing over one hundred pounds and capable of severely damaging adjacent property and personnel. Accordingly, a need exists for a safe system for storing and retaining such cylinders.
Secondly, a need exists for storage of the cylinders which facilitates inventory reconciliation. By way of example, there is no way to visually distinguish empty cylinders from full cylinders and no way to quickly ascertain how many cylinders of a group of cylinders are full. Likewise it is difficult to determine which cylinder among a group of cylinders has been in inventory the longest. Therefore, a need exists for a better system of inventorying cylinders in storage.